Style your home sustainably with fair trade and eco-friendly curtains that are not only designed beautifully, but are light on the planet and good for people, too.
Why Sustainable Curtains?
Materials:
Most curtains are made from synthetic fabrics like polyester (which is made using petroleum) or other unsustainably sourced fibers like viscose and rayon (which are made from tree pulp and have been linked to the deforestation of endangered and old-growth forests).
Toxic Chemicals:
Not only are synthetic fabrics and dyes harmful to the environment, but they’re harmful to human health as well (after all, we are part of the environment).
Vinyl curtains are among the worst culprits as they’re typically made from PVC. Research has shown that these PVC curtains contain toxic chemicals like volatile organic compounds (VOCs) phthalates, and organotins.
Labor Issues
As with literally every industry, home goods like curtains are often made in a global supply chain with little transparency and traceability. Sweatshops, child labor, and forced labor are a reality in textile factories (and farms, mills etc.) and unless a company can prove otherwise, they may not know if this is taking place in their supply chain.
How Can I Identify What Sustainable Curtains Are?
Materials:
Look for organic and low-impact natural fibers such as organic cotton, linen, and hemp! I like to look for the GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certification for organic cotton from larger brands.
But, for smaller brands with traceable supply chains, they don’t necessarily need to pay for an expensive certification to verify that the cotton was grown in a sustainable way. In fact, traditional cotton growing practices are organic! Some farmers have never used synthetic pesticides or genetically modified seeds and have stuck to their traditional and indigneous practices.
Dyes and Chemicals:
Look for plant-based dyes, non-toxic mordants (what sets the dyes onto the fabric), and avoid toxic finishes. You can identify if a product was made with finishes if the product description says something like “wrinkle free” or “stain resistant”. Water or stain-repellent products may contain PFAS (also called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment or in your body).
Ethical Production:
See if the brand offers transparency into their production. Do they ensure fair wages and benefits, safe conditions, and reasonable working hours? Do they have certifications, photos, audits, or records of previous visits to facilities to back this up? Or even better, does the brand have direct partnerships with the artisans, weavers, sewers, and dyers?
As always, there is more that you can look for. You may want to support BIPOC-owned and/or woman-owned brands, and maybe you like to buy from brands with strong donation initiatives. But the above list is something to get started with!
Note that this guide includes affiliates. As always, all brands featured meet rigorous sustainability criteria and are brands we love — and that we think you’ll love too!
1. Made Trade
Made Trade is the ultimate destination for finding sustainable home goods — including curtains! Not only are the curtains on Made Trade made with natural fabrics and dyes but they’re made fairly, too, by skilled artisans using heritage practices such as block-printing and hand weaving.
Conscious Qualities: Eco-Friendly Fabrics, Fair Trade, Cultural Preservation, Carbon Neutral Certified
2. Magic Linen
Curtains are a great way to lighten and brighten up your home. And the colorful drapes from Magic Linen have the ability to beckon spring into your space.
Made from pure linen that’s OEKO-TEX® certified, i.e. it’s been tested for a number of harmful chemicals, Magic Linen offers a range of semi-sheer curtains that can also be custom-made to your size and color requirements. We love the fact that you can buy fabric swatches to have a better vision of your desired outcome before you commit to making a custom purchase.
Conscious Qualities: Sustainable Material, Woman-Owned Brand, Low-waste Practices, Compostable Packaging, Supports Local Community
3. Rawganique
Using only the healthiest, most eco-minded fabrics they can source, like organic hemp and organic linen, Rawganique is a reliable resource for finding non-toxic curtains. Their curtains are VOC-free and free of chemical treatments and Rawganiuqe also offers undyed and unbleached options.
Conscious Qualities: Organic Eco-Friendly Fabrics, Non-Toxic, Manufactures In-House
4. Linoto
Dedicated to all things linen, Linoto has 100% linen curtains in a vast variety of colors. The curtains are great for any room that you want filtered light and a natural, airy feel. Linoto’s sustainable curtains are available in lengths form 20-200 inches and widths from 25-200 inches!
Conscious Qualities: 100% Linen, Custom-Made, Made Locally in New York, Black-Owned
5. Kingdom of Comfort
Another Etsy shop worth checking out is Kingdom of Comfort! They use 100% organic stonewashed linen that is free of harmful chemicals. Their curtains are available in a wide variety of sizes and are all made-to-order.
Conscious Qualities: 100% Organic Linen, Made-to-Order
6. Bolé Road Textiles
Artisan handmade in Ethiopia, the fair trade curtains from Bolé Road Textiles bring in a touch of vibrancy and artistry. The ethical curtains are completely handwoven and made to order, minimizing waste and maximizing quality. Learn more about the process here.
Conscious Qualities: Ethically Made in Ethiopia, Cultural Preservation, Black-Owned, Woman-Owned
7. The Best Linen
The Best Linen’s curtains are available in a variety of cozy and dreamy colors and are all Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified. You can also get custom-made curtains if you need special dimensions for your windows.
Conscious Qualities: Oeko-Tex Certified Linen, Made-to-Order Options
8. LinenDuet
LinenDuet has dreamy eco-friendly curtains made from washed, softened linen. The 100% European linen meets Oeko-Tex 100 standards and each curtain panel is handmade to order in the US by the LinenDuet team.
Conscious Qualities: Linen, Made-to-Order
9. So Linen
Add a touch of ease to your living spaces with the effortless curtains from So Linen. The brand’s 100% European linen curtains soften sunlight while still letting in some brightness — the perfect balance for making a space feel airy and homey!
Conscious Qualities: Made from 100% European Linen
10. Prolinen
Prolinen is another Etsy shop with linen curtains — their 100% organic European linen curtains are OEKO-TEX Certified and pre-washed. You can order custom sizes from Prolinen as well.
Conscious Qualities: 100% Organic Linen, Made-to-Order Options
You May Also Want to Check Out
21 Ethical Home Decor Brands to Curate a Conscious Space
What is Sustainable Interior Design? Tips, Tricks, and Common Myths
10+ Eco Friendly and Ethical Throw Pillows for Every Aesthetic
The post Fair Trade and Eco-Friendly Curtains to Accent Your Space Sustainably appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.
Fair Trade and Eco-Friendly Curtains to Accent Your Space Sustainably
Thoreau wrote in Walden that “Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in,” which reminds us that life is short and nature fills it beautifully. What are you looking for that can’t be found during an afternoon in nature?
Earth911 inspirations. Post them, share your desire to help people think of the planet first, every day. Click the poster to get a larger image.
The post Earth911 Inspiration: Time Is but the Stream appeared first on Earth911.
https://earth911.com/inspire/earth911-inspiration-time-is-but-the-stream/
Green Living
Classic Sustainability In Your Ear: The Ocean River Institute’s Natural Lawn Challenge for Climate Action
Turn back the clock with this classic interview that will get you ready for Spring yard care planning. A lawn may be beautiful but it can take a heavy toll on the environment, accounting for between 30% and 60% of residential water use in the United States. Rob Moir, Ph.D., is president and executive director of the Ocean River Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ORI works with residential lawn owners to heal damaged ecosystems by restoring coastal areas to lessen the destructive impacts of climate change. The benefits of a natural lawn reach far beyond reduced local water pollution, eliminating chemicals that can contribute to cancers, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and other cellular diseases. Natural lawns are also better for local pollinators and store much more carbon than heavily fertilized lawns. If you considered removing your lawn to play a part in the battle against climate change, this interview may change your mind — a healthy lawn is a powerful carbon sink.
The Ocean River Institute is recruiting Massachusetts communities, town by town, to take a pledge to follow natural lawn practices in the Healthy Soils for Climate Restoration Challenge. You don’t need to live in Massachusetts to participate and learn about the alternatives to the traditional, chemical-intensive lawn practices that use Roundup, a source of glyphosates that kills soil-dwelling fungi and local pollinators, and fast-acting nitrogen fertilizers. You can learn more about the Ocean River Institute at www.oceanriver.org.
Rob has contributed many articles about climate change and the history of environmental change since this interview, including:
- Finding a Northwest Passage to the Sea
- Turning the Tide—How Land and Water Shape Our Climate Future
- Learning from Captain Scoresby’s Ten-gallon Fir-Cask
- Earth Savvy?
- Let the Ground Keep Falling Rainwater
- The Sultans of Swag Versus Looking at Clouds from Both Sides Now
- Subscribe to Sustainability in Your Ear on iTunes and Apple Podcasts.
- Follow Sustainability in Your Ear on Spreaker, iHeartRadio, or YouTube
Editor’s Note: This episode originally aired on May 30, 2022.
The post Classic Sustainability In Your Ear: The Ocean River Institute’s Natural Lawn Challenge for Climate Action appeared first on Earth911.
https://earth911.com/podcast/earth911-podcast-the-ocean-river-institutes-natural-lawn-challenge-for-climate-action/
Choosing your perfect gown can be one of the most exciting decisions for your special day, but for the eco fashionista, it can be a challenge to find a dress that fits your values and style — but these brands have exceptional sustainable wedding dresses you’ll swoon over!
Using earth-minded materials like hemp, cruelty-free peace silk, deadstock recycled fabrics and vintage lace, and producing consciously, either in small batches or handcrafting each individual piece made-to-order, the brands below meet high standards for transparency, ecological sustainability, and fair labor.
[For more sustainable wedding dresses, check out this guide to secondhand wedding dress sites!]
Note that the guide contains affiliate links. As always, we only feature brands that meet strict criteria for sustainability we love, that we think you’ll love too!
1. Christy Dawn
Dreamy dress brand Christy Dawn does not disappoint with their romantic bridal collection! Each piece is more swoon-worthy than the next.
Their three sustainable bridal gowns are made from regenerative silk charmeuse —sourced through BOMBYX, an innovative silk producer using best practices — and colored in a beautiful pearl silk with non-toxic dyes. Each dress is ethically cut and sewn by makers in Los Angeles earning living wages, as with the rest of Christy Dawn’s collections.
The Britta Dress and Fitzgerald Dress are 1920s inspired while the Athena Dress is a more modern (but equally romantic) option. All of these dresses are made-to-order with an estimated timeline of 4 weeks.
Conscious Qualities: Regenerative silk and organic non-toxic dyes, ethically made-to-order in Los Angeles
Price Range: $2,500 – $3,000
Size Range: XS – XL
2. Pure Magnolia
Blending the traditional with the modern, Pure Magnolia designs classic-inspired sustainable wedding dresses with contemporary touches. And each dress is made in their Canadian studio by seamstresses earning fair wages from eco-fabrics, such as organic cotton and hemp silk.
The brand sources recycled fabrics whenever possible as well, and recycles their scrap fabric through FABCYCLE.
Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, locally and fairly made, recycles scrap fabrics
Price Range: $845 – $3,300 CAD
Size Range: 0 – 28
3. Lost in Paris
Lost in Paris crafts each of their creatively designed bohemian-inspired gowns ethically in their Sydney, Australia studio. Unconventional yet undeniably striking, Lost in Paris’ dresses are made from vintage lace and cotton.
Investing in a dress from Lost in Paris is seamless — the brand offers at-home sample try-ons, offers train and sleeve adjustments on several styles, ships their dresses worldwide for free, and even accepts returns. Oh, and, if one of their ready-made sizes doesn’t work for you, you can get a dress designed to your measurements.
Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, uses vintage lace, locally made
Price Range: $950 – $3900 AUD
Size Range: XXS – XXL + custom sizing options
For More Slow Fashion Content:
4. Wear Your Love
Wear Your Love creates feminine, effortless dresses in their Northern California studio that are — in contrast to the majority of wedding dresses on the market — actually comfortable! The brand’s free-spirited designs are made with soft, earth-minded fabrics like organic cotton and each dress is made to order for each bride to their exact measurements.
There are also customizations available for each eco-friendly wedding dress such as train or no train, skirt or sleeve linings, back coverage, skirt style, and more.
Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, made-to-order model, locally and transparently made
Price Range: $680 – $1,700
Size Range: N/A; dresses are made to your measurements
5. Larimeloom
Based in Reggio Emilia, Italy, Larimeloom crafts exceptional custom-made dresses by hand in their atelier. The brand creates comfortable minimalist dresses from durable natural fabrics and colors them with natural or non-toxic dyes.
Larimeloom has also implemented zero waste design techniques, cutting their patterns strategically in order to minimize fabric waste.
Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, zero-waste designs, natural fabrics and dyes
Price Range: 650€ – 2,650€
Size Range: XS – XL
6. Sister Organics
Sourcing quality earth-friendly natural fabrics like organic hemp and cotton, Sister Organics creates classic, eco-friendly wedding dresses for UK-based brides.
Each dress is made to order in England, so you can select a pre-defined size, customize the length of a size, or get an entirely different dress made for your measurements.
Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, made-to-order model
Price Range: £125 – £390
Size Range: XXS – XXL + custom sizing
7. Indiebride London
Indiebride’s vintage-inspired sustainable wedding dresses are delicate and romantic yet free-spirited, offering a unique collection for the bride that wants to skip the conventional wedding gown and choose a piece that fits their individual style.
The brand’s conscious wedding dresses are handmade in London using majority natural fibers and can be altered or customized to your specifications.
Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, uses many natural fabrics, locally made
Price Range: £1,200 – £1,700
Size Range: 8 – 16 (UK sizes)
More Resources For Your Eco Wedding:
10 Secondhand Wedding Dress Sites for the Eco Bride
7 Ethical Lab-Grown Diamond Engagement and Wedding Rings
17 Brands with Conscious Dresses (great options for bridesmaid dresses in here!)
The post 7 Best Sustainable Wedding Dresses for Your Special Day appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.
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